Freedom of Obscenity: Relativism At Work

Christians today are confronted by obscene images on all sides. The standards of decency for many magazines and newspapers have been falling, television frequently features semi-pornographic material, and even billboards in some cities feature scantily-clad people. You can’t get away from this filth.

Some might argue that this is the price we pay for living in a “free country.” We have the freedom to preach the gospel, and by the same token others have the freedom to promote offensive and obscene material. Fair is fair.

But there’s something strange about this. The surge in filthy public images and messages has only been occurring for about 30 years or so. Haven’t Canada and many other Western countries been “free societies” for more than 30 years? Why was it that before the late 1960s there was freedom to promote the gospel, but television and other forms of media contained relatively wholesome messages? Was there a double standard?